Quoting: jnowariak
He will likely be better. He isn’t playing in the NHL at the mo so he doesn’t help them win now, which Gavrikov does. It’s all about competition windows.
Heinola is arguably one of our better dman already. He’s not playing because he’s too small and not strong enough. If he packs on 5–10 lbs he’ll be a top 4 guy next year for sure. In his first stint in the NHL, he was easily one of our best dman, but it was evident he wasn’t physically ready. He’s been tearing up the AHL this year. Not putting up a crazy amount of points, but his overall play has been really good.
I do agree that CBJ likely would’ve asked for this, and Winnipeg would have for sure declined. But I also get that you give up quality to get quality. I don’t necessarily think gavrikov is worth this, but I do think he’s worth a 1st and a c prospect.
Any trade this year that had Perfetti or Heinola in it was a non starter for Chevy. I think he would’ve moved Kovacevic/Green and a 1st for Gavrikov though. That package seems fair to both sides for me. If not Jets could have added another pick.
I’m of the belief that the Jets only should have traded for a dman if they were a pure rental, too many guys coming up to acquire someone with term. So while yes gavrikov would’ve been nice, the price likely was too high for them to create a log jam on the left side. Think Chevy may have seen it the same way.